It was a gorgeous sunny day in the city of Maplevale. The morning rush had already passed, and with school not yet started for another few weeks, the traffic was at calm levels--save the rush of the teenagers with cars. The city was expanding rapidly with the new jobs that the energy and technology plants were opening bringing new people to it. The city had begun to swell from a population of 100,000 to nearly 200,000 in the span of half a decade. The construction jobs prevalent to deal with the expansion had been numerous, but it was dying down finally. Thankfully. It was still growing rapidly, beginning to earn the nickname "mini-metropolis." It boasted numerous parks, a growing expanse of skyscrapers, a few large lakes, and two centers of learning renowned for their academia nationwide--one of them Ivy League. In short, life was good in the city.

Jericho meditated on the roof of the city, trying to focus his power, trying to understand it. He still was unsure of what to do with this power. Becca was still trying to get him to put on some ridiculous outfit and "hero it up" with her. Still couldn't believe that had become a reality.

But was that what his powers were meant for? There was the argument that power not used was no better than having none at all. There was also the argument that great power carried great responsibility--the Spider-Man credo--but just because you had the power were you necessarily obligated to the world around you to use it?

"You're thinking about it again, aren't you?"

Jericho sighed. He'd been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't even felt Becca's presence. His face made a grimace that faded when he saw Becca in her civvies and not in her "Vivacious" uniform.

"You always do that," she grumbled, folding her arms. "I'm doing some good out there."

"I didn't say a word," Jericho said, closing his eyes and trying to return to meditating.

"You don't have to," she snapped, "your face says it for you. Look, I messed up and am trying to make up for it like you taught me!"

"I don't recall telling you to name yourself 'Vivacious,'" he said with an unsuppressed smile.

She made a face. "You're a real smug bastard, y'know that?"

"Guilty," he added with a laugh.

"Hey!" she said grabbing his arm and pulling him up. "Enough with the monk stuff! I'm hungry!"

Jericho popped an eye open to look at her. "You're a grown woman," he commented. "Go and get yourself something to eat."

Suddenly, he felt a spike of energy and saw a glowing ball of golden light in Becca's hands. She looked highly disgruntled.

"I don't wanna eat alone," she said. "And just like you helped me, it's my job to help you. And all this antisocial behavior just isn't good for you."

Jericho sighed. "I take it that means you're gonna badger me until I agree to go?"

Brianna nodded in agreement. “I see…well thank you again for your help” she added. She turned around and gave a slight wave before exiting the morgue. She would need to get back so that the group could access the information stored on the jump drive.

Casually, she made her way down the street. Her thoughts drifted to what high profile science lab would attempt something like this. Whatever company it was, it needed to be stopped. Something like that floating about was like begging for trouble. And the last thing she wanted or needed was unwanted trouble.

"Thank you, girlfriend," was Styx's reply when Bri made it back. "I'll get a look at this, see what I can find out. If what the guy said was right, then we've gotta find the people responsible and bring them to light."

[Attn: Finch]

Johnson merely scoffed. "A cure? To hell with that. If and when the time comes, we'll find a way to market it and lengthen it out for ten years or so." He slapped Finch upside the head. "Stop trying to think outside of your box, dumbass, and stick to your forte."

He grinned. "Yeah, the last batch of assholes we tried it on were an unruly bunch. Eh," he added with a nonchalant shrug, "military's problem, now. Glad to see you're finally making yourself useful."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Avi and Sig set made by the awesome Skylar! Thank you so much!

I claim:

Spoiler:

Tamaki Kawazoe and Kirino Chiba from Bamboo BladeKana Minami from Minami-Ke!Aika from Skies of Arcadia ^_^

The longer Johnson speaks, the more distraught the look on Finch's face becomes. He rubs the back of his head where Johnson had smacked him. Then he begins to stammer and speak up. "B-b-but, sir, if we can cure something like this, then who are we to deny-" And then the bomb drops. "Batch of... Military?!" Finch stands up from his seat and turns Johnson around by his shoulder. "Sir, you don't mean to tell me you've already tested it on soldiers? Real, living people. That batch failed the mice trials. It wasn't ready for human testing, yet. I-it still isn't! Wha... what have you-"

Finch pauses for a moment and walks over to his work station, picking up the vials of each batch of the elixir and placing them into a carrying case. "I can't believe I bought into this. I thought I'd be helping people. This entire time. Y-you were just after expendable super soldiers." He picks up the last vial, an early batch.

Johnson's casual backhand sent the poor man sprawling to the ground. "Exactly who do you think you are, pissant?" he said in a quiet voice. "You think you can get uppity and bite the hand that feeds you? You think you can leave without my say so?" He barked a laugh. "I think you should be reminded of your place in the pecking order."

He clapped his hands twice swiftly and security personnel came in. He pointed to Finch on the ground and they hauled him up. "Have some fun with him, boys, and make sure there are lots of people to see it." He jerked the man's head up by his hair. "Major lesson, pissant: there are people with power and people without it. I, am the former. I can do unto you and there's not shit you can do about it and if you try, you'll find yourself buried under a mountain of lawyers and never being hired by anyone ever again. Stew on that, bitch." With a nod, the security team dragged the poor man out, menacing grins on their faces.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Avi and Sig set made by the awesome Skylar! Thank you so much!

I claim:

Spoiler:

Tamaki Kawazoe and Kirino Chiba from Bamboo BladeKana Minami from Minami-Ke!Aika from Skies of Arcadia ^_^

"Get off of me!" Finch protests. "Sir, please. You don't understand the magnitude of the mistake you're making. The elixir isn't ready." When Johnson nods to the door and the guards begin to carry Finch out, Finch looks up at them. "Johnson. Johnson! There are people with more power than even you, Johnson! Remember that!"

The police surrounded the building below, setting up a perimeter as onlookers stood trying to get a sight in. News vans were parked all over and reporters were giving a report of the situation. Vivacious could hear choppers in the distance. Shit.

There were only a couple of hostages, one of them taped to a chair. The obvious bad guy paced impatiently and she smiled. This asshole never watch the movies? Snipers would have a clear shot at him!

She looked around and frowned. They would if the other buildings offered a clear shot. She felt her cheeks heat up and was glad no one could see. Inside, she watched him perk up as he headed toward the desk where the phone was. She grinned and pointed a finger at him. "Care Bear staaaaaaaare!" she exclaimed as her fingertip glowed an a beam of light blasted from it, shredding through the glass like it wasn't there and plowing into the man.

[Attn: Tam]

"The only way you could be dangerous is if we don't figure out what's going on and you act like it never happened," Horatio said. "So don't sweat it. You need to just lay back, relax, and think about what you'll wear on your date with Terry." He gave her a grin and a wink.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Avi and Sig set made by the awesome Skylar! Thank you so much!

I claim:

Spoiler:

Tamaki Kawazoe and Kirino Chiba from Bamboo BladeKana Minami from Minami-Ke!Aika from Skies of Arcadia ^_^

Liza was out on the street, wearing a black sweatshirt she found and some sweatpants. It really grated with her aesthetic. I'm gonna get my hoodie back if its the last thing I do. And her underwear. That was a nice pair.

She'd heard on the news there was some hostage sitch going on, and she wanted to go to that, but she didn't really have the costume for it right now. Hell she looked more like one of the thugs who'd be involved in that sort of thing right now. Liza grimaced, pulling her hood up as she kept walking.

She could at least pass near the location before hunting down those other guys...

Stacy-Lynn sits in her car, listening to the radio report on the hostage situation. She turns it off and glances up through her windshield to the sky. "This has been going on for a while, now. Where is he?"

Meanwhile, miles above the Earth, a massive rock is pummeled to smithereens before it can become a problem. On the other end of it is the ever vigilant Omniman. That takes care of that. He rights himself in the vacuum of space and flies back to Earth, making a beeline for the city until he senses a tremor of distress. He takes a detour, traveling to the west, where he grabs someone's car that'd stalled on a train track and carries it off, setting them down in a nearby field. He pries open the jammed door and helps the man at the wheel out of the vehicle. "You appear to be all right. Do you feel faint at all? Would you like me to take you to the hospital, sir? Do you need to car moved to a garage?"

Omniman nods and flies off, trying to get to the tremors he's been feeling from the city for the past few minutes. However, he senses another spike nearer to him, indicating a more immediate danger, so he diverts once again.

The man smirks with a pleased expression as the police call his office and assure that the man he has asked for will be there shortly. Who doesn't enjoy getting what they want? The woman in the chair, tied up in all her glory, makes no effort to escape from her bindings.

He is pacing about, bored from all of the tense silence, but halts as he felt the warmth envelope him--the warmth of the girl's attack. He turns to see that someone has, in fact, been hiding from him. Glass shatters where the beam of light had shot through, glass pouring in at his feet. He looks annoyed.

"Oh, please. Come in." The man says with his arms casually welcoming her in a polite gesture, "Have a seat."

The woman in the seat looks back as far as she can, trying to get a glimpse of what is going on. She looks frustrated and uncomfortable.

"I can always do with another hostage." He smirks.

[ATTN: Horatio]

Tam grunts, crossing her arms on her chest and ignoring Horatio's last annoying remark. Closing her eyes, she decides to rest her eyes until they reach their destination. If she's lucky, she can keep her anxiety down if she imagines nice things in her mind.

Tam says, "Play some music or something."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Click here to get started on GtR!Many thanks to Skylar for making my sig/avy set!

Vivacious blinked in surprise. "The hell? That should've knocked him off his feet!" She squinted suspiciously. "Is he superhuman...?"

He said something and smirked and she glowered. She would knock that dumb grin off of his stupid face. She held up her palm and leveled it at him.

"Carebear stare!" she said, giving him a defiant grin of her own. A larger blast shot out, shooting and knocking the glass out as it shot at him.

[Attn: Tam]

The trip didn't take too long. Horatio took her to Fowler Advanced Clinic. The doctors and nurses were friendly and respectful toward Tam and Horatio. They took a few blood samples and passed her through a few advanced medical devices. Horatio stayed with her through it all, occasionally leaving for a business call.

When the tests were done, they were free to leave and told they would be called when the test results were in. The sun was halfway toward the horizon. From there, Horatio treated her to a late lunch. He took her to her dorm so that she could get a few things, then took her back to his place. By the time they got in, the sun was halfway behind the horizon.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Avi and Sig set made by the awesome Skylar! Thank you so much!

I claim:

Spoiler:

Tamaki Kawazoe and Kirino Chiba from Bamboo BladeKana Minami from Minami-Ke!Aika from Skies of Arcadia ^_^

The man stands still, letting the second attack come. Throwing his arms up to protect his eyes from the brightness and the glass, he lowers them again after the attack--happily, with only a few cuts from the glass.

"Ugh!" The woman in the chair looks pissed. Standing up from the seat where she had just been tied up with no trouble, she places her hand on her captor's shoulder while holding the other hand in the air, palm facing Vivacious.

The familiar ray of light shoots from her fingers, heading towards the girl's body as the "hostage's" eyes glow. Her angry tone sounds somewhat feral and out of place when coming from the lips of such a sophisticated and sensible appearing woman.

"You take care of her or I will." She says to the man with an angry tone.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Click here to get started on GtR!Many thanks to Skylar for making my sig/avy set!

Vivacious' eyes widened in surprise. "What the f--" she managed before she had to throw up her arms, blocking her own blast!

She squinted at the pair. "Damn!" she said. "Your supes, too! Then this really isn't...?" She grinned. "Take care of me, huh?" she said cockily, cricking her neck and putting up her fists, taking a fighting stance. "Come and get it, asshole."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Avi and Sig set made by the awesome Skylar! Thank you so much!

I claim:

Spoiler:

Tamaki Kawazoe and Kirino Chiba from Bamboo BladeKana Minami from Minami-Ke!Aika from Skies of Arcadia ^_^

The man laughs as the girl flies in with threats. She is so cute. Laughing a little more, he steps up towards the window as the woman sits back down in her chair and proceeds to "tie" herself back up dismissively.

Stopping right before the girl, he looks down at her with a daring gaze. "Go ahead. Take your best shot, sweet thing."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Click here to get started on GtR!Many thanks to Skylar for making my sig/avy set!

Had she forgotten? Terry paced in the alley behind the girl's dorm while Jill watched him pace. She was grinning.

"Man you look flustered," she said. "Some girl got you in a tizzy? Some boy?"

"Of course not," he said, "just a, a partner."

"That far along already?"

"No!" He turned away as his face reddened. She was just teasing him, and he was just giving her more fuel. "For this case. The girl. Girls," he reminded himself, thinking of those that might still be alive. "She said she'd meet me here but maybe..."

She forgot? He was a little disappointed, but the more he thought about it the more relieved he was. Meant maybe he could start investigating on his own without risking her getting into trouble. He squared his shoulders, resolved. "So I'm gonna check things out on my own."

"Sure thing, man," she said. "You just be careful, alright? That weird feeling is still around and you got lots of friends here, but none of them can actually pull your ass out of a fire."

He smiled as he thought about the other campus ghosts. "Yeah. I know. I'll talk to you later, Jill."

[ATTN: Hostage Sitch]

The building the hostage situation was in was surrounded by cops now, spotlights up on the building and all. Light flashed from up in the building that wasn't from any spotlights. Supers?

Damn. Now she couldn't just walk away. She couldn't tell if the supers were the good guys or the bad guys or both. But she also couldn't make it up to that building without dealing with the police too...

She might be able to jump the barricade if she had enough energy, but she needed a mask. There has to be a place nearby I can get like a bandanna or a towel...

As the adorable girl kicked and hit him, one right after the other, the man just stands there and takes it with an amused grin on his face. Clearly unaffected, he chuckles a little as the woman in the seat groans from annoyance.

"Dude, quit playing with your food!" The business woman says with irritation. "We have a job to do."

The man sighs. "Yeah, alright."

He turns around and walks toward the second hostage, who is tied down and lying upon the floor. He bends down to pick her up and throw her over his shoulder.

"I'll just kill this bitch if she doesn't play nice." The man says.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Click here to get started on GtR!Many thanks to Skylar for making my sig/avy set!

She froze in shock, and it afforded him the time to grab another hostage. My powers have no effect! What do I do?!

"I'll just kill this bitch if she doesn't play nice."

That snapped her out of it and her face darkened. "Fine, you condescending prick!" She pointed both her hands at the floor beneath him and let out a shout as golden energy erupted from her hands, leveling the floor underneath him and causing it to collapse.

She cringed in horror as she realized what she'd done. She shot forward in an effort to catch the hostage before she went down with him.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Avi and Sig set made by the awesome Skylar! Thank you so much!

I claim:

Spoiler:

Tamaki Kawazoe and Kirino Chiba from Bamboo BladeKana Minami from Minami-Ke!Aika from Skies of Arcadia ^_^

Elsewhere, the aforementioned Alice Idol sits on a yacht, sun tanning. She hears a loud rumble in the distance, followed by screaming from other passengers. Lowering her sunglasses, she sees a chunk of meteorite falling toward them from. "Oh %@$&!" She gets up and rushes to the edge of the boat, diving over the side and into the water, just in time as the yacht is soon smashed to smithereens and explodes under the pressure of the falling space rock.

Alice awakens to several other people from the incident. She coughs up water and, as she opens her eyes, she sees a red and white blur soaring off into the sky. "What the &@$% just happened?"

As Vivacious rushes towards the large man with the hostage in his arms, he holds tight, unwilling to let the woman go. He looks pissed as he falls down onto the floor below, where several people in their offices that aren't crashed by the falling debris being to scatter and scream.

An unconscious woman lies on the floor underneath the man, as both were knocked prone from the landing, but still maintains his tight hold on his hostage.

"You seem pretty set on getting me more hostages." The man says as he stands, girl on his shoulder and foot pressed down lightly over the head of the woman that he had landed on. "I really should find a way to appropriately thank you."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Click here to get started on GtR!Many thanks to Skylar for making my sig/avy set!

Vivacious growled in frustration, her hair and eyes glowing brightly as energy crackled off of her. She started to charge, but the image popped in her head and she had enough presence of mind to stop. Shame flooded through her, which only served to piss her off more, and her hands glowed with bolts of power she longed to unleash upon the asshole.

"Big talk from a needle-dick asshole who hides behind women," she growled through gritted teeth. "This how you compensate for not being able to get it up, you pathetic sack of shit?"

[Attn: Finch]

On YouTube an anonymous video popped up. In the video, a man is forcibly stripped, forced into a bikini and makeup put horribly on his struggling face as he's then flogged, hosed, then held down as men take turns pissing on him. Afterward, he's taken outside, and tied between two flagpoles, hanging naked and spread eagled for all the world to see.

The video gets taken down and put up several times as it goes "viral." People buzz and talk about it, wondering who the poor bastard is, others wondering if it's a hoax.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Avi and Sig set made by the awesome Skylar! Thank you so much!

I claim:

Spoiler:

Tamaki Kawazoe and Kirino Chiba from Bamboo BladeKana Minami from Minami-Ke!Aika from Skies of Arcadia ^_^

As Finch hangs there, people gather around where he's strung up to the flag poles. Some point and laugh, others take pictures. Some taunt him from afar. He can't even muster the strength or will to call for help. Fortunately, he needn't. There is a thunderous crash and a red and white blur strikes down from the sky like lightning, cracking the pavement beneath where it lands. Omniman stands there, his cape wavering and his arms crossed. "Leave. No."

People scatter and Omniman watches them disperse. Then he removes his cape. He flies up to Finch and breaks the bindings, keeping him tethered to the poles. He wraps his cape around him and flies him to his apartment, setting him down on the roof. "I'm sorry you had to go through that, sir. If there's anything I can-"

"J'just g-go," Finch says, making his way into the building.

Omniman watches Finch disappear inside then flies off to other emergencies.

Her eyes glowed with wrath, her energy crackling out the sides. "No," she said. "I ain't acting against you and that's the most you're getting." An angry smile grew on her face. "Please kill your hostages, and lose the only leverage that keeps me from killing you, asshole." There was murder in her eyes as she glared at him, her body quivering with rage.

"These here ladies aren't going to die unless you make me kill them. Their lives are in your hands, whether you like it or not, you primpy little bitch. Now, either do as I say, or get lost or a lot of fucking people are going to die, and you'll be the last one to go down. I'll make sure you're the last to go down."

Vivacious' angry smile grew wider. "Big talk from the guy hiding behind the women," she said coldly. "You'll win this day, but I'll find you, and when you don't have little girls to protect you, you're mine. You and that bitch upstairs."

The man shrugged and leapt back up to the next floor smoothly, going about his business as if Vivacious wasn't there. She grit her teeth, but remained where she was. She looked around and shame ate at her insides. How would she tell Jericho about this.

"C-c'mon..." she said, her voice choking. "I-I'll get you all out of here..."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Avi and Sig set made by the awesome Skylar! Thank you so much!

I claim:

Spoiler:

Tamaki Kawazoe and Kirino Chiba from Bamboo BladeKana Minami from Minami-Ke!Aika from Skies of Arcadia ^_^

A hooded figure with a black bandanna over it's face shoved her way through the crowd around the building, making her way towards the barricade. As the police started to get in her way to stop her, she leaped, sailing a good ten feet over their heads and landing on the other side near the building.

Lightweight looked up at the building in time to see a golden girl fly off out the window. The whole place looked pretty quiet now in comparison. Had she shown up too late? Was the girl a good guy or a bad guy?

Damn. Did she follow the girl or stay here?

Lightweight glanced behind her at the cops starting to close in around her, telling her to get back. What a pain. God, she looked like such a villain in this getup. Girl it was. If it hadn't taken so bloody long...

One of the cops near her stumbled as she gathered the energy to launch again, flying up into the air over the crowd and in the direction the golden girl had gone.

She wanted to run from it all, to hide, to scream, to...too many things all at once. That whole incident was a fail. A big fail. Not just in failing to stop the bad guys, but failing as a person. She had wanted him to hurt that hostage so she could tear into him. She had almost lost to her anger and had considered plowing into him, hostage be damned. Because he had insulted her pride. This isn't the streets, anymore. Well, it is, but...you know what I mean.

She landed on a rooftop, all the images of seeing Alisha in bandages and bruised swimming through her mind. She couldn't take it. "Gah!"

Her fist glowed as she punched a chunk of wall from the rooftop entryway, then pounded her fists against it in frustration, denting it further until she finally slid down, letting out a scream of fury and scrubbing at her face as she wiped hot tears from her eyes. She hated crying.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Avi and Sig set made by the awesome Skylar! Thank you so much!

I claim:

Spoiler:

Tamaki Kawazoe and Kirino Chiba from Bamboo BladeKana Minami from Minami-Ke!Aika from Skies of Arcadia ^_^